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Wednesday, 20 March 2013

Budget 2013 Osborne: We’re on the right course

By Sunil Patel

The Chancellor slashed in half his own economic growth forecast but still insisted the government are right to stick with their Plan A.In December, George Osborne predicted the UK economy to grow by 1.2 percent in 2013 but almost four months later he has been forced revise down his own meagre target to 0.6 per cent.In the budget speech, Osborne delivered a raft of measures designed for what he labelled the ‘aspiration nation’.Some of the key pledges include a penny taken off the price of a pint of beer, the scrapping of 3p fuel escalator scheduled for September and a corporation tax cut from 21 per cent to 20 per cent.Mr Osborne said, “Mr Speaker this is a budget for people who work hard and get on. It’s a budget for people who realise there are no easy answers to problems built up for many years.”The Chancellor reveals the private sector is creating six jobs for every one lost job in the public sector.He also announced that there will be interest-free loans for home buyers worth up to 20 percent on new-build properties.The £10,000 income tax allowance will start in 2014 which is one year earlier than planned.“Today I’m going to level with people about the difficult economic circumstances we still face and the hard decisions required to deal with them. It is taking longer than anyone hoped but we must hold to the right track,” he added.The Labour leader Ed Miliband delivered a scathing assessment of the chancellor's budget speech "Every budget he comes to the house things are worse and not better for this country, he said.“Compared to last year’s budget, growth last year down, growth this year down, growth next year down, growth in 2015 down and all he offers is more of the same,” Mr Miliband added.